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In 2000, the hamlet was sold to private investors for one 'symbolic Deutschmark,' the pre-euro German currency.

The two brothers who were the original buyers of its dozen buildings, plus sheds and garages, did not manage to stop its slide into neglect.

During the Second World War, the Hitler Youth trained around Alwine and prisoners of war were incarcerated nearby. Then the Iron Curtain went up and it became part of Germany's communist East.

Until Germany's 1990 reunification, all the property in Alwine, which once counted about 50 residents, was owned by a nearby coal briquette plant, the oldest in Europe.

Several local residents had worked there since the 1960s, said Andreas Claus, the mayor of Uebigau-Wahrenbrueck of which Alwine is a part.

The plant closed in 1991 and many people left.

Only about 20 mostly retired people still live in the cluster of decaying homes in rural Brandenburg state, 75 miles south of Berlin

During World War II, the Hitler Youth trained around Alwine and prisoners of war were incarcerated nearby

Until Germany's 1990 reunification, all the property in Alwine, which once counted about 50 residents, was owned by a nearby coal briquette plant, the oldest in Europe

Before the result, residents waited nervously to see who would buy the property, with some fearing the sale wo;; bring unwelcome changes. Paul Urbanek, 71, said: 'We have been chucked into cold water.'

'Most of the departures were, of course, younger people - the daughters and sons of this place' who moved to West Germany, said Peter Kroll, the district representative, who has lived nearby since 1945. None have come back, he said.

Mayor Claus added: 'People had no other prospects here, especially if they were older.'

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Alwine is not the only such community in eastern Germany, which still lags behind the west in prosperity, wages and jobs, with a per capita GDP that was only 67 percent of that in western states in 2015.

Between 1990 and 2015, the region's population fell by about 15 percent, said a government report this year.

'After reunification, many people moved away for jobs,' said Hildegard Schroeteler-von Brandt, a professor of architecture and urban studies at Siegen University.

'These jobs have not been replaced everywhere in East Germany.'

Residents awaited the result nervously to see who will buy the property as some fear the sale may bring unwelcome changes

Paul Urbanek (pictured hear his home), 71, said of the sale: 'We have been chucked into cold water.'

Urbanek, who moved there after a divorce in 2010, said he likes Alwine because it's quiet.

But now the roof of his house needs to be replaced, he said, and the electrician doesn't come by anymore.

Except for one family, all of Alwine's inhabitants are elderly.

'I'm retired, my neighbour is retired ... The others are also both retired,' Urbanek noted, pointing across the way.

Given the region's exodus of younger people, 'the ageing process in eastern Germany is progressing much faster than in western Germany,' according to the government report.

Several local residents had worked there since the 1960s, said Andreas Claus, the mayor of Uebigau-Wahrenbrueck of which Alwine is a part. Pictured: Local mayor Andreas Claus

A sign announcing the auction of real estate is pictured in the Alwine splinter settlement of the town Uebigau-Wahrenbrueck

Mayor Claus, who only learned of the sale by reading it in the newspaper, did not seek to bring the town into public ownership.

And Urbanek said it was unlikely that anyone living there could have been able to raise the necessary funds.

'People in economically underdeveloped areas feel left alone with their problems,' said Claus, voicing a common complaint that has impacted eastern German politics.

During the elections in September, nearly 23 percent of Uebigau-Wahrenbrueck voted for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, nearly twice the national average.

Mayor Claus said he would invite the new owner to the town hall 'to see how we can try to develop something here, in collaboration with the people, and not against them.'

Mayor Claus said: 'People had no other prospects here, especially if they were older.'

He (pictured) added he would invite the new owner to the town hall 'to see how we can try to develop something here, in collaboration with the people, and not against them.'